Ready for War
This was always a tough road to travel for me. The territory hit a home run in Raw’s closing moments
from Madison Square Garden. But did they peak too early? With Survivor Series a few days away, this edition of Raw had a tough act to follow.
They came nowhere close to that bar but they at least set the stage for some stories inside of the main story.
Raw kicked off with the Tribal Chief, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk. Really, it was the first guy and the other two interrupted. The important bit out of this is that while Roman hates The Vision more than he hates Punk, and is always there for his family, he thinks that championship belt looks better on his shoulder. He didn’t say which belt, which left both champs a bit bewildered.
Yes, Roman can’t stand Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar still makes his blood boil, but the main thing remains the main thing; he wants gold. Meaning Cody and Punk can trust him up until the point he decides he wants what they have. Put another way, if Roman sees a way to protect his family and win the match while weakening one or both champions, I can see him going that route. Of course this ignores the recent dysfunction between The Usos and their cousin, but that’s the issue with doing a War Games in this manner. Some stories or continuity gets jettisoned in favor of the moment. And the bigger the moment, the bigger the omission. Moving right along.
On Team Vision, the only real drama is whether Paul E. can control Drew McIntyre. Drew’s SmackDown suspension might factor at least somewhat into Survivor Series. Not sure how, but it’s always a thing either out of Paul’s mouth or the announce team. Drew is the volatile type with a history of violence, so yeah, let’s monitor the ticking time bomb already on very thin ice with management.
All that gets us to the main event and my disappointment. Not with the match itself; Jimmy & Jey Uso know how to tag team, and Logan Paul & Drew held their own. The latter team got the win for their War Games team thanks go a bunch of drama outside the ring. It’s that last part that left me feeling a bit meh.
I get that we have to do a brawl because that’s how these things play out. But after last week, it felt anticlimactic. The most interesting part came when Brock fell ass backwards during his entrance:
I have no words for that. I am at a loss. Talk amongst yourselves and tell me what exactly happened to this man before he walked to the ring.
But that aside, it was by the numbers. We even got another end credits fake out that made no sense considering the audience saw Brock enter the building earlier and knew he was coming out if only because he had to.
That actually describes the disparate pieces of this match: because they had to. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the match because I usually dig War Games but I can’t say I enjoyed the road to San Diego. Last week’s Raw felt like lightning in a bottle while this one felt like a slight rain shower.
Album Cuts
- Friends who genuinely care what people on the internet say about wrestling and/or pay attention to the chatter tell me Booker T doesn’t have many fans as it relates to his NXT commentary. I don’t mind him at all but listening to Wade Barrett talk about Carmelo Hayes definitely made me miss Wade teaming with Vic Joseph on Tuesday nights.
- I mention Melo because he wrestled GUNTHER in the Last Time is Now tournament. I knew he wasn’t going to win but dammit if they didn’t make me think it might be possible. I concur with my man Kyle that Melo was the right call if only because GUNTHER doesn’t need this. I watched almost refusing to get even slightly invested in the match because I knew the outcome. But thanks to the layout and the two cats in the ring, they got me. I expected Melo to dominate early only for The Ring General to make a comeback and finish it. What I didn’t expect was an actual back and forth that resulted in Melo kicking out of a Power Bomb, refusing to say uncle to a sleeper, and only going down after suffering a second Power Bomb. To say nothing of the number of times Melo put GUNTHER on his butt and heels. This was a competitive match that put the crowd on their feet while cheering for the guy who took the L. I still don’t think the right guy won but they at least did right by the guy who lost.
- The other side of the bracket saw Solo Sikoa advance over Penta due to a referee decision. Penta apparently injured himself for real and the ref stopped the match. That’s not how either man wanted the match to go. Saying a prayer for Penta and hopefully his injury isn’t too serious.
- Becky Lynch makes me laugh harder than almost anyone in wrestling. I love how she plays a deluded person so high on their own supply they can’t see their delusions. She took credit for putting this War Games team together. The same team she joined last. But she also put over Asuka, Lash Legend, and Nia Jax in the process. She crowed about their greatness while reminding everyone they’re not as great as her for various reasons. Special shoutout for acknowledging Nia broke her face but that her bones are so tough that she didn’t need to wear a mask like Rhea Ripley. Becky standing there with her teammates brought out Rhea, AJ Lee, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and IYO SKY. AJ got on the mic but let’s be real: This was always headed for a brawl and that’s exactly what we got. There’s still not enough narrative juice on either War Games match for me but like I said last week, I’m living for those fleeting moments.
- Maxxine Dupri got a little spotlight this week. Not in the ring but a backstage segment setting the stage for what comes after winning a championship: Defending it against any and everyone. Ivy Nile and Roxanne Perez showed up but world’s worst GM Adam Pearce told her that he’s gotten more calls from people looking at her title than anyone else since he became GM. Everyone thinks Maxxine is a steak dinner and they’re hungry. Maxxine has Natalya in her back pocket, but what if her tag team partner also wants a taste? This is where the underdog story becomes fun.
- Rey Mysterio defeated JD McDonagh as The Judgment Day continue this dance with the old man. And no, I have nothing nice to say about the preceding angle with Dirty Dom and a small John Cena.
This Raw lives in last week’s episode’s shadow. It was fine but lacked the go home excitement that last week provided. Luckily, Survivor Series traditionally holds me down, even if the path to the event leaves a lot to be desired. That said, if there’s one thing from this show I’d recommend any wrestling fan partake, it’s Carmelo Hayes vs. GUNTHER.
What say you, Cagesiders? Does Roman turn on Cody or Punk during the match or is one of them his WrestleMania opponent?
